1R 
Noah, I'm glad to hear that you've taken the first step. Another way to easily help the cause is to buy locally grown/organic produce. Less travel resources go into the delivery and with organic produce there's no use of harmful chemicals/pesticides which effects soil and even migrant workers. Another "eye-opener" is the Green Options blog: http://www.greenoptions.com/ but I have to warn you they post a lot of updates.
March 18, 2007
2Mike
Local food not only creates less carbon, but its healthier. This was the cover story of Time magazine last week.
March 19, 2007
3harris
That Australian Shiraz most likely came by ship, not airplane. The Californian Shiraz traveled across country by truck. If the Australian wine docked in a port near you, it may have less of a carbon footprint than the Californian.
The Prius is a nice car. How much carbon was used making the batteries in that car?
Can I plant trees (or pay for them to be planted) to offset the carbon I use? How do the trees get to where I want to plant them? How many trees do I need to plant to offset the planting of the trees?
March 19, 2007
4Noah Brier
Thanks, R, will check out greenoptions.com.
Mike, local is also often quite delicious. :)
Harris, those are fine questions and definitely not ones I know the answer to (though I'm sure you do -- since you know everything). I'm very much a novice in this stuff and was just thinking out loud. How many trees you need to offset the planting of trees is a great one . . . not sure where to go with that.
March 19, 2007
5harris
I don't know the answers, either.
I do know questions need to be asked.
We all want to do better, to be greener, so we don't always ask the questions. It sounds so good, so easy.
Should I use a paper cup for my coffee? Styrofoam? A mug?
It sounds like an easy question.
It takes a lot less energy to make a foam cup than paper or a mug. The foam can't be recycled in a practical way and will take up space in a landfill. The paper cup also won't degrade in a landfill. The mug needs to be washed, using more energy and adding detergents to the water.
So, none of those are ideal. Which do you choose?
Another question: Would Walker's have made the changes if it would have cost £1.2m per year, rather than saving £1.2m? I hope so.
March 19, 2007
6Noah Brier
Harris, the very fact that I'm considering these questions and having this conversation is a step in the right direction.
I also wonder if there's a good place to get these answers . . . Green friends??
March 19, 2007
7Bonnie in Albuquerque
Noah, I agree with you that starting to ask the questions is a step in the right direction. I never really thought about my actions until an episode of 30 days. I started small by changing the lights in my house and compost. In new mexico we have such good farmers markets so buying local is pretty easy. I just wish smaller towns like this would have better public transportation.....We have a lot of green buildings and housing developments so slowly more people are starting in the right direction. I also would be more apt to purchase products or services from companies that are making the effort. I do feel that the discussion needs to continue so more people start making changes and continuing to ask questions.
March 19, 2007
8Sarah Winters Papsun
Thinking Green is simple! Just doing the littlest things are a start in the right direction. I once heard this inspiring speech about just doing something, even if you think you are not good at it or it’s too small to count, it does matter and it does count... Starting to think in that mentally is the biggest hurdle, once you are over it… it’s easy… even if you just simply pick up some litter in your neighborhood, bring your soda cans back to the store for the deposit, turn off the lights you aren't using, or make an effort to buy products with less paper packing YOU are THINKING GREEN. It's easy to start…and like a snowball rolling down a hill, your ability to impact the environment positively will grow and grow and soon a significant change is made, or you could still be doing nothing! Start today!
March 19, 2007
9Sarah Winters Papsun
Al Gore just e-mailed this to me (and like a million other people) but check it out. It's on the topic of being GREEN:
http://www.algore.com/cards.html
March 19, 2007
10R
I think doing the carbon calculatons is the next step for this lifestyle activism. Following this will be the companies that figure it all out for you and make their products carbon neutral or ideally carbon negative.
So to take for instance the coffee example: you could brew organic free trade coffee using filtered water from an aquasuana filter, pouring it into a mug that you bought from a local potter who doesn't use lead and chemical finishers, adding organic sugar and organic milk to the coffee, and washing the mug with eco friendly soap. All entirely do-able but it takes effort.
It's not entirely thorough but inconvenienttruth.com has a personal test you can take regarding your carbon count, I'm sure there's a better one online somewhere.
In terms of the Prius question, I think it speaks to the heart of this emerging issue which is transparacy.
Right now fewer people want to know about the Prius battery. When it becomes a competitive product issue where people need to know before they choose between a Prius or the _ then I think not only will the info become better but also the manufacturing process. If more and more people demand their products be less harmfull or ideally beneficial to the environment then the market shall respond.
This is why this first crucial step is so important. Add action to the equation and we're in business.
March 19, 2007
11amber
good post Noah! My mom always put it to me like this when she found a jar or bottle in the trash - she would ask me if i would throw that same item on the ground outside. Of course, I would never do that, and would inevitably go back and wash out said jar or bottle and put it in the recycling bin.
Aside from recycling, we have energy saving lightbulbs in our lamps, which cost maybe like $14, but last for about 5 years.
There's also a kind of composting that you can do in small spaces called vermicompost, in which you have a tub that these special worms live in, and you cut up your foodwaste and put it in there , and then they eat it and poop it out, and you sift through the wormies once in a while, and take the poop and put it in your houseplants, if you have them.
http://www.composters.com/docs/worms_p2.html#vc
That's really for people who tend to eat at home a lot, and don't mind regular contact with worms and poop. But hey, some people are into that.
and you're right! it's good that you're even thinking about it, and of course there are lots of questions and debates on what is and isn't good, but the more people that start talking about it, the sooner we get to the answers.
March 20, 2007
12R
Here's another blog that found me re: this issue http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/
March 20, 2007
13R
Here's another blog that found me re: this issue http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/
March 20, 2007
14Nick Baum
Hey,
I've been meaning to post a comment on this. A simple way to get greener is to buy carbon offsets for your flights. There's always some controversy about the true value of offsets, but in my opinion they're certainly better than not doing anything at all.
I do this through a company called Terrapass: http://www.terrapass.com. I know the founder and I trust that they're doing the right thing.
-Nick
April 13, 2007
15matthew feldman
There are a ton of great organizations that offer carbon offsetting, not just Terra Pass. I do agree that you need to make sure that there is outside verification. Tree Planting has a lot of issues around it and doesn't make a great offset project, stear clear of it.
September 8, 2007
March 18, 2007 |
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